It is not uncommon for persons to lose or misplace portable articles that are worn or used regularly, such as eyeglasses, items of jewelry, sporting equipment, clothing, toys, tools, and the like. For example, a person wearing a pair of eyeglasses may temporarily remove them, intending to pick them up later but forgetting and leaving them behind. Loss of such an article can cause considerable inconvenience to the wearer, who must have the item replaced, often at considerable expense. This problem is particularly acute in the case of eyeglasses, which, because they are often removed, are easily lost or misplaced. Loss of a pair of eyeglasses causes particular inconvenience, since the owner may be left without any eyeglasses while the lost pair is being replaced.
Methods of identification for such frequently-used articles are known, but have not been widely used. For example, for a number of years it has been known to engrave such articles with identifying indicia. In this method, an engraving machine is used to etch a surface of the article. Engraving suffers from a number of drawbacks, however. First, there is a limit on how small the etched indicia can be made. This, in turn, makes the etching method difficult and impractical for extremely small or narrow objects and objects which may vary in size, such as small items of jewelry and eyeglass temples. Second, the machines used for engraving are costly. Independent distributors of jewelry and eyeglasses are usually unable to afford machines of this type. Third, engraving leaves an impression in the surface of the article to be identified. Because articles such as eyeglasses and jewelry come into frequent contact with human skin, the engraved impressions can trap dirt and bacteria, giving such articles an unsightly appearance and creating an undesirable and unhygienic condition.
Other methods of article identification are known, but are not suitable for use with portable articles that are used frequently. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,927 to Jones discloses a minute, color-coded identifier that is dispersed in a transparent and hardenable cementitious liquid. The liquid is applied to the article to be labelled in sufficient quantities so that one or more of the identifiers becomes attached to the article. The identifier can then be read with a magnifying device. Of course, such a method is impractical for use with portable articles that are easily lost. A person finding an article labelled in this fashion would not be alerted to the presence of the label and, even if he were, he would be unable to decipher the color-coding identification system so hat the article could be returned to its rightful owner.
Because of these and other drawbacks, the above methods of article identification have not been consistently used to label portable articles that are used frequently, such as eyeglasses, jewelry, sporting equipment, toys, tools, and the like. As a result, there currently exists a need for a label for such articles, one that is readily visible to a finder of the article but which is substantially impervious to wear and which does not trap dirt and bacteria. There is also a need for a practical and economical system of identification for such articles, so that sellers of such articles can easily and consistently apply owner-identifying labels to such articles at the time they ar sold. This need is particularly acute in the case of eyeglasses, which are easily lost or misplaced. A system of identification for such articles would be of great benefit, both to the sellers of such articles and to the persons who wear them.